Adjustable rod guide for pumps



INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

E. w. OSTROM l ADJUsTABLE'RoD GUIDE Fon PUMPS Filed April 19, 19:58

fefvfsr M OsreoM Nov. 2l, 1939.

Patented Nov. 21, 1939 y* 2,180,119 [s Y ADJUSTABLE non GUIDE FOR PUMPS l ,Ernest W. Ostrom, Pasmmyt, Calif.. .assignor to Axelson Manufacturing Co., Los Angeles,.Calii.,vv

aV corporation of California Application April 19, 1938, Serial No. 202.895

s claims. (o1. a- 181) y n I My invention relates to'oil well pumps and has particular referenceto an adjustable rod guide readily adaptable vto different pump lengths andr dierent plunger and rod assemblies for pumps. 5'@ In oil well pumps it is the common practice to employ as a part of the pumping apparatus a barrel anda plunger reciprocable relative to each other to perform the pumping operations, either the barrel or the plunger being stationarily ru'- mounted in the lower end of pump tubing While the other 'of the members is adapted to be reciprocated by means ofra string of sucker rods extending from the pump up to the ground surface. l

3'5'1 In assembling pumps, even pumps of a given type produced by a single manufacturer, theassembly of the various partsv necessary lto make a.

particular pump produces an over-al1 length of pump structure which will vary between consider- 2 .y ably wide limits depending upon the particular apparatus required in the pump. For example,V

the barrel may be assembled with a particular character of standing valve, a particular character of hold-down or vlock mechanism for antain sectional lining of predetermined lengths so that the assembled structure has a given overall length.. Another purchaser o'fthe same character of pump may desire a different standing 30 valve or a differenttype of hold-down device or a different type of vsectional liner, the assembly of which will produce a pump having a different over-all length. Similarly, the plunger structure may be assembled from stock parts diiTeringl slightlyy in length from each'otherso that the assembled .plunger for one type or character of pump may vary considerably from the length of a similar-plunger assembled from slightly different parts. f Y 40 'Any vpump of this character to be efficient must provide for a stroke ofthe plunger and barrel' relative to each other such that upon the' completion of the down stroke the plunger-is as far' down in the barrel as it is p ossible to achieve 45 without striking' the' end of the barrel or the standing valve therein so that in order to permitl the plunger and the bottom portions of the barrel assembly' to come close tol each other, the plungerv rod employed to suspend the plunger 50 from the sucker rod string 4has been required to be extremely accurate r'in length. ynecessitating the provision by the manufacturer yof a great number of different lengths of plungerrods.

Even in assembling a series of pumps `from 55":J identical parts, the manufacturing ytolerances choring the barrel in the tubing, and it may con-` allowed in the vvarious parts mayy be so cumulated in the assembled structuresas to cause supposedly. identical assemblies to vary in length toa considerable extent. 'I'hus whenlthe plungers are connected to a plunger rod considered to be stanfili dard for such assemblies, it frequently occurs l that the plunger is permitted to strike the bottom assembly of the barrel or the plunger does not move vinto* sufciently Iclose relation to ther bottom of the barrel." Hence it has been necessary' lif for the manufacturer to alter the lengths of the plunger rods to t the particular pump assembly with which itis to be associated.

yIt is .therefore an object of my invention to plunger mechanisms may be assembled together v from stock parts'tozproduce the particular type` and character "oi" pump desired by a' purchaser` and in which 'the plunger rods may beso assembled with such structures as to permit of adjust- 20'- ment of the effective lengths of the assemblies.

, Another object of my invention is to provide a pump'"assemblyv of the character set forth wherein an adjustable rod guide is provided adaptedvto vary the effective lengths of thepumpand barrel mechanisms to'permit theuse therewith of standard'stock lengths ofplunger rods. g

Another object ofy my invention is to provide a pump assemblyjo'f the character set forth in which the stationary member of the pump is provided' with a guide surrounding the plunger rod and in which such guide is adjustable longitudinally with respect to the pump 'structure to constitute f an adjustable abutment limiting the downwardmovement ofthe plunger rod relative l to the stationary member of v.the pump.

Another object of my invention is to provide av pump assembly of the characterset forth wherein the barrel of thefpump is provided with an elon-K- gated nipple surrounding rthe plunger rod and in which the nipplemaybe readily adjusted longi-` tudinally with respect to the barrel to provide anl adjustable abutment' engageable by the plunger.

rod to limit the extent of thedownward movement rof 'the' plunger vin the barrel.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from a `study of the following specic'ations, read in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein f '.50

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectionalview taken through a portion of the pump tubing and illustrating av vplunger and barrel pump embodying my invention assembled therein;Y y

Fig. 2 'is an enlarged sectional view similar to 55.'

provide a pump assembly in which the barrel and 131".

-th'e plunger rod may strike.

Fig. 1 and illustrating the rod guide and plunger rod assembly in detail; and

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken along section III-III of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, I have illustrated in Fig. 1 the lower` end of a string of `pump tubing or now tubing I, to which is secured the housing structure for receiving an insert type of pump, such housing structure including an adaptor collar 2 secured directly on the end of the tubing string I and having an anchor shoe 3 extending downwardly therefrom to connect with an elongated tubular member 4 within which the pump proper is to be located. The pump illustrated is of the stationary barrel reciprocating plunger type and includes a barrel 5 comprising an elongated tubular jacket at one end of which is secured the standing valve 6 and the other end of which is secured to suitable anchoring or holddown mechanism including a collar l, an anchor lock `8 and a. ported cap 9 provided with a plurality of ports I II through which oil pumped by the pumping mechanism may flow from the pump to the interior of the flow tubing I. The barrel is adapted to be held stationarily in the n tubingstring I by any of the anchor mechanisms well known in this art, the particular anchor mechanism illustrated herein including an anchor sleeve II secured in the anchor shoe 3 and having a plurality of iingers I2 adapted to engage the' anchor lock member 8 of the barrel assembly The plunger may comprise a tubular plunger body I3 in the lower end of whichis located a working valve I4 and to the upper end of which is secured a ported cap I5 provided with ports I6 through which oil entering the plunger body I3 may escape outwardly into the upper end of the barrel 5. A plunger rod I 'I is secured directly to the cap I5 and extends upwardlyV through the barrel cap 5 and is provided upon its upper end withA a coupling I8 to which .a string of sucker rods extending from the ground surface may be connected.

From the foregoing it will be noted that the barrel assembly 5 includes a number of parts such as a standing Valve, collar, anchor lock and cap, eachy of which may be selected of any desired length depending upon the particular characteristics desired for the pump. Similarly the plunger assembly includes the body I3, working valve and cap which may be selected of any desired length depending upon the characteristics desired for the pump. so that the particular length of plunger rod i'! which is required for any given assembly must correspond to the length of the barrel assembly. As will be observed from an inspection of Fig. l, it is desired that upon the down stroke of the sucker rods the lower end of the plunger should approach as closely as possible to the lower end of the barrel assembly 5, that is, it should approach as closely as possible to the standing valve 6 without actually striking any of the bottom assembly mem bers of the barrel 5.

To prevent the plunger from so striking the bottom of the barrel assembly, a rod guide I9 is provided upon the upper endv of the barrel assembly. The form of rod guide illustrated herein comprises an elongated threaded nipple screwed into a threaded bore 20 in the cap member 9, the upper end of the nipple I9 being prein erably enlarged as indicated at 2| to constitute an abutment against which the coupling I8 for They coupling I8 and rod guide I9 therefore constitute abutments which will limit the downward movement of the plunger assembly.

In the manufacture of pumps the length of the plunger rod II selected for anyv pump assembly is such that the collar I8 will engage the rod guide I9 before the lower'end of the pump plunger can possibly strike any of the parts of the barrel and'then when the pump is located in the well ready for pumping operations the stroke of the sucker rods ispreferably arranged such that the limit of the downward stroke of the sucker rods will be such that the coupling I8 will be broughtclosely to but not into engagement with the rod guide I9.

By constructing the rod guide I9 as an elongated nipple threaded through substantially its entire' length and formingthe rod guide as a part separate from the cap 9, it will be apparent that in assembling the pump structure at the factory any minor variations in the assembled lengths of thev plunger and barrel assemblies may be compensated. for by screwing the rod guide nipple I9 downwardly or upwardly relative to the cap 9 until abutment between the coupling i6 and the rod guide I9 will occur when the lower end of the plunger' and the lower end of the barrel are in proper spacedrelation. When such adjustment has been made, a lock nut 22 threaded upon the rod guide I 9 may be tightened to hold the rod guide in its adjusted position relative to the' cap 9. Such adjustment, though preferably made in the factory, may also be made in the iield if it found that there is any danger of the pump and plunger assemblies striking each other.

Moreover,A .by constructing the rod guide nipple I9 of considerable length, rather wide limits of variation may be provided, permitting the use of the same stock parts of cap, jacket, anchor lock or vother assemblies desired to be put togetherto comprise a pump barrel, and any suitable assembly of plunger body, working valve and cap may be assembled to work in such barrel. Plunger rods may be provided in stock varying in length in increments determined by the limits of adjustment of the rod guide I9. For example, if the rod guide is provided with a limit of adjustment up and down relative to the cap 9, of

three inches,v then a seri-es of plunger rods may ,2,

be maintained in stock varying in lengths by increments of three inches.` Employing this construction permits the ready'assembly from stock parts of different characters of pumps without necessitating the careful and accurate machining of the plunger rods to a particular length adapting them to a particular pump assembly.

Anyminor variations in the lengths of the several pump parts may be compensated for by a simple adjustment of the rod guide relative to the barrel assembly and the plunger is permitted to approach so closely to the end of the barrel as toassure maximum ernciency of operation of the pump while insuring that the rod abutment I8 will engage the guide abutment 2| before the lower end of the plunger can strike the lower end of the barrel.

While I have shown and described thel preferredembodiment of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to any of the details of construction shown or described herein, except as defined iny they appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a pump assembly, a barrel, a plunger reciprocable in said barrel, a plunger rod extendreciprocable in said barrel, a plunger rod extendi ing into said barrel and connected to said plunger, an abutment on said plunger rod, a guide surrounding said rod and having an abutment thereon engageable with the plunger rod abutment, and means mounting said rod guide on said barrel for adjustment longitudinally of said barrel to adjustably limit the movement of the said plunger in said barrel.

3. In a pump assembly, a barrel having a cap at one end thereof, a plunger reciprocable in said barrel, a plunger rod extending through said cap and connected to said plunger, an abutment on said rod, a rod guide having an abutment thereon engageable with the rod abutment, said guide comprising a nipple surrounding said rod and threaded into said cap to dispose said rod abutment in adjustably spaced relation to said cap to thereby adjustably limit the extentfof movement of said plunger in said barrel. A

4. In a pump assembly, a barrel having a cap at the upper end thereof, a plunger reciprocable in said barrel, a plunger rod extending through said cap and connected to said plunger, an abutment on said rod, a rod guide comprising an elongated nipple surrounding said rod and having an abutment formed upon one end thereof disposed toward said rod abutment for engagement therewith, said nipple having threads extending -along amajor portion of its length, a threaded bore in said cap adapted to threadedly receive said nipple whereby threading of said nipple into and out of said bore adjustably disposes said rod guide abutment relative to said barrel to adjustably limit the extent of movement of Asaid plunger in said barrel.

5. In a pump assembly, a barrel having a cap at the upper end thereof, a plunger reciprocable in said barrel, a plunger rod extending through said cap and connected to said plunger, an abutment on said rod, a rod guide comprising an elongated nipple surrounding said rod and having an abutment formed upon one end thereof disposed toward said rod abutment for engagement therewith,said nipple having threads extending along the major portion of itslength, a threaded bore in said cap adapted to threadedly receive said nipple whereby threading of said nipple into and out of said bore adjustably disposes said rod guide abutment relative to said barrelto adjustably limit the extent of movement of. said plunger in said barrel, and means for locking said nipple in any adjusted position.

6. In a rod guide assembly for use with pumps having-a reciprocating plunger operating in a barrel, a cap to be connected to the barrel of the pump and having a threaded plunger rod opening therein, a rod guide nipple having a thread extending along themajor portion of its length receivable in said cap opening for adjustment longitudinally of said cap to dispose the end of said rod guide nipple in adjustable predetermined spaced relation to said cap.

ERNEST W. OSTROM. 

